Kozhikode, Nov 28 (IANS) Libraries are silent zones and it is notdifferent at Farook College near Kerala city. But sometimes inits quiet ambience you may hear a voice reading aloud in English in anaccent that is not native.

Don't be perturbed - it is the Digital Talking Book Library.

The college, located about 15 km from here, has installed thisfacility at the library for the benefit of visually challengedstudents and aptly named it 'Insight'.

'Insight' helps 32 blind students at the college to delve into thevast world of books without the help of Braille. The library has fourcomputers to help such students.

The facility consists of a few computers, a scanner and a set ofspeakers and also headphones. Through voice prompts it also helps theuser operate the computer.

"Visually challenged students find it very useful. They spend hours atthese machines reading books and periodicals," said M. Ayub, thelibrarian.

"Its operation is simple. You have to just scan the pages you want toread. The computer will convert it into sound bytes. The students havelearned to operate the system and they are doing it without help fromothers," he added.

The gadget looks ordinary, but the software may baffle you.

"We are using the software Jaws and Kurzweil to operate thesesystems," says Habeeb C., a guest lecturer and a former student of thecollege, as he operates the system with astonishing ease. He isvisually challenged.

He has played a key role in encouraging the authorities to install thefacility. A brilliant student and a winner of scholarship from theFoundation for Academic Excellence and Access (FAEA), Habeeb had beenfamiliar with this system from his student days.

The talking library has also come in for praise from a UGC reviewcommittee team, which recently visited the college.

"They said they haven't come across such a facility in any other artsand science college in the country," said the librarian.

The college is also planning to provide more help to the visually challenged.

"We are planning to bring out compact discs of lectures and to installa printer which can print scanned materials in Braille. The printer iscostly and it has to be imported," adds Ayub.

Farook College, affiliated to Calicut University, is run by theRousathul Uloom Association.